Dorthonion
by Lilian Hope Black
Summary: Aredhel of Dorthonion, elf maiden, forbidden to leave her home, finds a loophole in her father's law. Gandalf returns to her home on his way to the Shire, and he desires a companion. Aredhel's father, though extremely stubborn, does not wish to argue with Gandalf. So what happens when another person is added to the Fellowship?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! OK, so this is my third fanfiction. First LOR one, but still 3rd. I love LOR so much! GAH! The title needs a little help, so if you have any ideas, I am so open! LOVE! ~Kim**

Chapter one:

"Gandalf!" I shouted from my balcony. He was still miles away, but thanks to my keen eyes I could see him. I ran down my stairs and waited for his arrival in the courtyard. I huffed in annoyance for I knew that he was walking slowly on purpose if only to annoy me. Well, it was working. Finally, after waiting a few more insufferable moments, I gave up and ran to him.

As soon as I jumped into his arms, he laughed at me and set me back on the ground. "Never were you the patient type. Oh but it does my heart well to see your shining face again, dear Aredhel." He patted my head and ruffled my long bleach-blonde hair.

"Oh stop, you'll mess it up!" I tease.

Gandalf laughed at me. "You and I both know you are not that type." I rolled my eyes at his words, however true they may be. "Where is your father? I need to speak with him."

I huffed. "He's where he always is; the study. I do hope you will tell me some of your adventures when you are done talking to him!"

"I will, I will. Patience." He laughed and set off to the study.

An hour had gone by without Gandalf being in the study with my father. I was so bored. I just wanted to get out of here and go on adventures. I would even settle for the next town over! I had never set foot out of my home; father's rules. All of the help knows that I had grown tired of this insufferable place. I long for adventure and new friends.

"Aredhel," I turned around at the sound of my name. Gandalf and my father were walking over to me. I stood and bowed my head at my father.

"Yes, father?" I asked politely.

"Gandalf is on his way to the Shire. I know you have read about that and hobbits. It has come to my understanding that Gandalf wishes for a traveling companion. As much as I hate it, I have decided to let you go with him." Father said bitterly.

My eyes widened at his words. "Really?" I manage to whisper.

"Yes, you leave within the hour." With this, my father turned and left.

Gandalf cleared his throat and I turned to look at him. "Thank you!" I all but shouted, throwing myself at him in a hug.

He laughed heartily at my attitude. "You are more than welcome. I trust you know how to fight?"

"Fight? Of course I do! I can fight best with a sword, but I would survive with a bow if need be." I bragged.

"Good." He chuckled.

~~~~~on the road~~~~~~

"I'm bored." I stated for the third time in an hour.

"Well it's a good thing we're almost there then." Gandalf said annoyed.

"Really? Oh I can't wait! When will we be there?"

As if to answer my question, I heard little footsteps. Turning my attention to that direction, I felt Gandalf stop the wagon in the meantime, I saw a small person running towards us. I immediately recognized him as a hobbit. He stood straight when he was not too far away.

"You're late." He said, fighting a grin.

Gandalf kept his gaze on the road for a moment longer then turned to him. "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely on time." He said. There was a moment of silence between the two, and I had no idea whether they were enemies, or friends. But I was answered by their laughter. I looked curiously at them while they continued to laugh.

"It's wonderful to see you, Gandalf." Frodo said, leaping into Gandalf's open arms. He laughed, much as he had done when my behavior was very similar.

"Frodo, this is Aredhel of Dorthonion. She is riding with me so that she can get some more knowledge of Middle Earth. I trust you can show her around?" Gandalf smirked at my excited expression.

"Of course, Gandalf. Come on then, I'm sure you will want to meet Sam." Frodo said to me. He held out his hand once we had stopped again, I took it and we both jumped off the wagon.

"Goodbye, Gandalf, I am sure I shall see you later. You mustn't leave without me after all." I stated. He laughed at me and led the wagon on again.

"Come on, Aredhel. Sam must be around here somewhere, and I'm sure he would love to meet an elf!"

And so, just as Frodo had told me, Sam was more than eager to meet me. As soon as we were a few yards away from, whom I presumed to be Sam, he looked up at me and his eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"Sam, this is Aredhel. She's an elf from Dorthonion." Frodo introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sam." I said grinning and holding out my hand for him to shake.

He merely looked at me for another few seconds before recovering himself. "It certainly is, milady!" he vigorously shook my hand.

I laughed at him and smiled more. "It's just Aredhel, please no formalities. And don't mind my asking, but could you please let go of my hand, I think it may fall off…" I laughed as he turned red and had a sheepish look about him.

"Sorry." He muttered.

Frodo was laughing with me and soon Sam was too. I immediately decided that these two were to be my new best friends, well, actually my only best friends; but friends nonetheless.

Hours passed by of Sam and Frodo showing me around the Shire. I couldn't stop staring in awe… until I tripped over something and had nothing to look at except the grass.

"Oops…" I mumbled into the ground. I heard two new voices laughing. Frodo was laughing as well, but Sam was trying to help me up. "Thanks, Sam."

"Well lookey here. Is she an elf?" I heard someone whisper.

"I believe so, Pippin. But what's an elf doing in the Shire?" another answered.

"I don't know, Merry." 'Pippin shrugged.

"I can hear you. You might as well show yourselves and ask those questions." I stated with a smirk. I heard fumbling and then two hobbits appeared before me.

"Are you an elf?" one asked, I dubbed him Merry.

"Yes." I answered while tucking some hair behind my ear.

"What're you doin here in the Shire? I'm sure there are more interesting things and places." Pippen added.

"I ride with Gandalf. He promised me adventure, and anything outside of my home is one I assure you." I smiled at them.

"Wow, so where are you from?" Pippin asked.

"I highly doubt you've heard of it, no one has, Dorthonion. It's a small kingdom in the woods. Though I am a woodland elf, I have never met any others." I smirked.

"That's so cool!" Merry exclaimed.

~~~~later that evening~~~~~~

Everyone was staring in shock at where Bilbo Baggins had just been. I, however, had seen him slip something out of his pocket. Could it have been… no, that was impossible.

Oh, you want to know about the fireworks? Yeah… apparently Gandalf thought I, of all people, was part of the dragon firework going off… so here I was… cleaning dishes with Merry and Pippen. Oh they were so going to pay. I glared at a dish before walking off to follow Gandalf. He was following Bilbo, so I assumed they were going to talk about what had just happened. As quietly as possible, which is very quiet for an elf, I followed behind the grey wizard.

I nearly tripped at one point when I bumped into someone. It was Pippen… he was probably mad at me for sneaking off…

"Hehe… hi, Pip. Whatcha doing out here?" I asked sheepishly.

He frowned. "Well I could ask you the same question. Come one, Merry and I have almost finished, there isn't much more." He sighed and led me back into the cleaning station. As soon as we were done, I bolted from the spot and right into Gandalf. What's with me and running into people… heh, not very elf-like of me.

He looked at me and smiled. "Well where are you going in such a rush?" he chuckled.

I rubbed my head. "Oh… I was actually looking for you. Where did Bilbo go?" I asked as casually as I could.

Gandalf frowned. "He left. You shall see him again one day, I'm sure. But where he went, I'm afraid I cannot say." He seemed to want to say more, but something changed in his eyes. "I must go. I will return. Frodo says you may stay with him at Baggend."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he quickly walked away and left in his wagon. I frowned and sighed. I would be stuck here in the Shire for who knows how long…


	2. Chapter 2

**...I'm sorry for being away so long. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! I rewrote this chapter a little so it's not... what did you call it? Mary-sue? I don't really like that kind of thing for my stories, so I really appreciated it when one of you pointed that out to me. Thanks for not killing me! A new chapter is being written! I don't know how long it will be or how close it will be to the movie/book. **

**PLEASE R&R! ~L.**

Chapter Two:

I was going to die. So. Bored! Yes, don't get me wrong, I loved the Shire and all its inhabitants. But this was the exact thing I was trying to get away from in Dorthonion! Why had Gandalf taken me to this place, if it was the same thing as home? Though there were several differences between the two places. For instance, this place was as green as the color itself. Nothing but beautiful pastures and meadows as far as the eye could see, especially for me… yes, there were lakes and what not, but it was so similar! finally, I woke up from a restful night's sleep one morning to find that Frodo was out and about.

I got out of my borrowed bed, and shuffled around the house for a while. Finally deciding I was bored again, I went outside for a little fresh air. That lasted for a long time, especially since I had a book to read. By the time I was done, it was already well past noon. I closed the book and went back inside. I placed the kettle over the fire in preparation for some afternoon tea. Setting out the tarts and teacups, I couldn't help but notice a little white envelope sticking out of a drawer to my left. Curiosity got the best of me and I went to touch it. pulling it out, and furthering my inspection, I saw that it held something round, most likely a ring, and it was extremely heavy. I touched the lump in the envelope and immediately pulled back due to a terrible burning sensation it left. I put it back quickly, and went back to preparing my snack.

I was clearing up my small mess, and preparing to read another book, when I heard the front door open and close quickly and quietly. The footsteps were not of a hobbit's making. This roused my suspicion. I silently made my way to where the noise was coming from. But as soon as I made it to where the noise was supposedly coming from, there was no evidence. But I knew something was wrong, so I stopped and didn't even dare breathe. I heard the floor creak to the right, and reached for my small dagger I always carried with me. I took it out of its sheathe, only to be assaulted by a hand covering my mouth.

"Not a word, no one must know I'm here." A deep voice whispered in Elvin. I struggled a little, but to no use. "It's alright. just no loud noises." The voice added. That's when I recognized the owner.

"Gandalf?" I asked, removing his hand.

"Yes."

"What are you doing here?" I asked quietly.

"I am here to tell you two things. The first being that Frodo is about to be sent to Rivendell, the second, pertaining to you, you must meet him there. He will need you on a quest I see in his future. I assume you know already about the ring?" he asked me quickly.

"The one ring? Yeah, I know of it. you don't mean… oh, Gandalf! Not poor Frodo!" I exclaimed.

"I am afraid so. But back to business; you must make haste. Lord Elrond expects you to arrive in two days-time. He has sent out a few of his men to meet you. I have prepared your horse already. Go!" he pushed me out the door before I could say anything.

"But what about my things?" I argued before getting on my brown horse.

"Here is your sword, bow, and arrows. Go, everything else you will need will be provided for you!" with this, he signaled my horse to go.

~~~later that evening~~~

I was getting tired. It had been four hours, and my horse and I both needed a rest. Unsaddling him, I yawned. I laughed at myself for being like this. Nothing wrong with traveling… but by oneself? I would have never dreamed of it!

Just as I was about to sit down for a much needed rest, I heard a twig snap. My eyes darted every which way in search of the perpetrator. But when I saw three elves in regal armor, I knew that these must be the ones whose coming was foretold. I stood and brushed of my trousers. What? Girls don't where trousers? Gah, what is this world coming to…

"Are you Lady Aredhel of Dorthonion?" one of the elves asked me with a slight bow.

I bowed a little too considering I couldn't properly curtsey… "Yes. I am to assume you are the ones from Lord Elrond's court?" I asked elegantly.

"Indeed, milady. Please, come with us. We are in a one day distance from Rivendell."

"You mean I traveled that far in that short a time?!" I asked, forgetting my manners.

He chuckled. "Yes, milady."

And so, we traveled. And traveled. And traveled. I was seriously getting worried. At one point, two of the elves started to sing and I joined in because I knew the very old traditional song. They grinned at me as we sang. To say the least, it was nice to have elves around that weren't either too young to know anything, or too old to get out of bed.

By the time we reached Rivendell, I was fully exhausted and hungry. My poor horse, Aido, was so close to keeling over I was worried for his health. Finally, we passed through the gates to our destination. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. So much wonder and amazing architecture. My little home was nothing compared to this. Even though I am a woodelf, I can't say that our buildings surpass the greatness of Rivendell.

"Lady Aredhel, if you wish to leave your horse in our care, you may go to Lord Elrond." One of the elves told me.

"Yes, thank you very much for helping me here." I said kindly.

"Our pleasure milady." He replied happily.

"Oh, one more question! Where is Lord Elrond?" I asked, feeling sheepish.

"Ah, he is in the courtyard. Two lefts and a right."

"Thanks again!" I bowed slightly and took off in the direction I was told. I passed many curious glances, and several scoffs. Rolling my eyes, I simply continued on my way.

I finally reached the courtyard, and brushed off my clothes before making my presence officially known. "Lord Elrond?" I asked.

The elf in front of me turned, his long brown hair moving gracefully with him. He smiled kindly at me. "Yes, and you must be Aredhel. Welcome to Rivendell." He spread out his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Thank you, milord. It is an honor to say the least, to be here. But, I am confused as to why I was to be here before Frodo arrives." I raised my slender blonde eyebrow.

"Ah, Gandalf works in mysterious ways. However, I do believe I can make a guess as to why he wished it this way." Elrond stated. I waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

I sighed. "I'm not going to be told yet, am I?" I huffed at his smile and nod.

"Rest, young one, tomorrow is going to come quickly and it will be a long day. Atherody will show you the way to your room." Elrond instructed.

The next morning I woke to find a beautiful gown set out for me to wear. I smirked as I observed my own clothes that I had been wearing the day previous. I bathed quickly and dressed. The dress was so elegant. With a high V-neck, the light blue would accent my figure nicely but not to an extreme. The only accents to the dress, was a black ribbon that went across the bell-like sleeves and around my waste, just under my chest. I slipped on some black slipper shoes, and made my way to the courtyard for breakfast.

"Ah, good morning, Aredhel." _Gandalf _said to me as I walked up to the table. "I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before."

I gawked at him. "So you send me to a place I've never been to before, by myself mind you, three days ahead of when you get here, and you couldn't have let me wait and come with Frodo?!" I exclaimed.

"I had things that needed attending, and Frodo needed to get ready."

"That doesn't answer my question." I stared blankly at him.

"Aredhel?" a voice asked from my left.

I turned to the voice. "Frodo, it's good to see you again!" I grinned at him. Then I frowned at a thought. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before I left. But _someone _told me to leave without giving me a heads up." I gave a pointed look to Gandalf.

Frodo laughed slightly. "I guess it's the same for me. Say, have you seen Sam or the others?"

"Sam? Others? I'm sorry, but I only just woke up. who all is here?"

"Well, obviously I am. But Sam, Merry, and Pippen came with me. We were accompanied by Strider, or some people call him Aragorn."

This name came as a shock to me. Aragorn was someone I hadn't seen in a very, very long time. "Aragorn is here?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's in the garden."

Without another word, I took off to the garden. Within seconds I reached my destination. True to Frodo's word, Aragorn was standing by the fountain. I walked up to him and stood there for a while.

"It's good to see you again, cousin." I smiled at him.

His eyes glanced over to me before he smiled widely. "It really is. My, I haven't seen you in a long time. You are looking well, Ari." He called me by my nickname that only he knew of.

"As are you, Aragorn."

"Lord Aragorn, Lady Aredhel, Lord Elrond wishes you to attend a secret meeting in three hours-time." An elf said, coming over to us.

"Thank you." Aragorn bowed slightly.

"Well, I suppose that means that… *sigh* I won't be able to explore anymore." I rolled my eyes.

"I suppose not. Say, you wouldn't be willing to meet the others arriving, would you?"

"Would I ever! Who's coming?" I practically jumped with excitement.

"I highly doubt you've ever met any of them, Ari." He said smiling sadly at me.

"Yeah, you're right. But will there be any more elves?"

"Well-" he was cut off when I heard something coming towards us and I turned my head. Coming our way, I saw a magnificent horse with an elven rider. He looked tall from what I could see, with long white-blonde hair like mine. As he neared, I got an even better look at his face. He was beyond a doubt, one of the best looking people I had ever seen.

"Legolas!" Aragorn said happily.

'Legolas' grinned as he got off his horse. "Aragorn, it has been too long. And who is this?" he asked, turning to me.

"This is Aredhel of Dorthonion. She is my cousin, and also a woodland elf. Ari, this is Legolas." Aragorn introduced us.

"Hello." I said quietly with a small bow. Legolas smiled and chuckled.

"Hello, Lady Aredhel. It is an honor to meet you." He returned my gesture.

"Oh please no more formalities." I groaned. Both males laughed at my complaint. I blushed. Agh! What was with me and acting all different around Legolas?

"Very well, Aredhel. Might I ask to sit next to you at the meeting?" he asked with a kind smile.

I blushed again, smacking myself mentally for my girliness. "Of course." I managed.

With that, the two men left me in the garden to discuss things. I made my way to my room to wait for the meeting.

**The ring of power will destroy you if you don't R&R! OK, so maybe it won't, but it would be really nice if you did review! Please give me feedback!**


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